Panel mounting assembly



y 12, 1953 G. MENOSKY 263819l PANEL MOUNTING ASSEMBLY Filed March 13, 1950 fie 14 16 22 Z3 .15 13d INVENTOIFQZ Patented May 12, 1953 PZAN EL MOUNTINGEAS SENIBLYf George. Menosky; Grand Rapids, .Mich., assignon, bymesne assignments, to A' MI Incorporatetba corporation of Delaware Application Marchcl3, 1950;. Serial-No. 149,402;

2 Claims.

This invention, in. its broadest aspects, relates totaapanel mounting assembly adapted .to secure any typeof; thin .panel within a marginal frame.

More"; specifically. it relates to glass setting dea vices; sinceewhile..-.the principles of the. invention here disclosed are: believed. to: be applicable to menus-and various constructionsinwhich athzn. sheetlorpanel is tobe mounted in amarginal frame, ,the. inventionufinds its greatest usefulness in}. connection with; the. mounting. of glass or.

transparent plastic windows. The advantagesof thespresent teachings are not, however, limited to. mountings: for conventional, .fiat, rectangular panes. They. areequally: applicable to irregular configurations. or three. dimensional molded mentsrsince a. firm. grip is. a: prime. requisite for--- adequate l strength, a yet .the grip must. be. ac? complished in aresilientmanner so as to avoid cracking orchipping of atbrittle glass. pane.,..and to exhibit no tendency;to..mar or. scratchthe.

surface. of a plasticsheetheld by the mounting.

It. is a further. obj ect of the, invention .to. pro: videmounting devices. which. are entirely or.

metallyet so. designedthat: they not only avoid cracking orchippingofthe brittle orfragile materialof the pane; but. will also. permit considerablerelativeyielding of theparts, and. will do .so

without allowingthemtodevelop looseness. The

accomplishment of this object is necessaryto allow. for expansion. or contraction. of the parts withrespect to. each other. and accommodate a fairly wide variety of dimensional variations in the. thickness. of the. panes. as. well. as in the mountings. thereof; butIitl is of even greater i mportance in providing, a. panel mounting which.

is,tiglit .and. firm evenlafter long, use, andnot aptto develop any.objectionable,.rattle or buzz even"- when subjected to considerable. vibration. A further. object of theinventionisto provide. an all metal mounting fonglass or..p1astic. panels,

wherein" the" marginal edges of. the. panel. are resiliently heldto a solid metal raill by a firm but-yieldable grip, which is accomplished without the need'of putty, calking compounds,.etc.,, andwithout the use of'any' screws orthreaded clamping devices; Thisavoids'anyneed of screws: ofsscrew-holes" eitherin the rail or in the panel itself.

A further object orthe invention: is the DJOYiA- sion of. a. mounting. assembly? including; clamping; devicesadaptedtosecure the marginaledgese 1; a. panel to a longitudinal metal mounting; raili' which is of identical: cross-sectional configuras tion. throughout its. length, sou that therailxmayz be manufactured by'thewextruding processaandfi rear or' inside willrequire. no. additionalmeehanical operations tosuit itto its intended P11113086." This ismims portant in providing janiassembly-thattisl simple: in construction and low in cost.

A further object is to. provide, in combination, a .metal mounting :rail and: a spring clipsoldea signed that these parts coast to hold. thewmarginali edge of a panel firmly. yet resilientlytea-supporte ing flange onthe mounting-rail, yetwhereinather parts are so designedthat the'clipscambeya plied, removed orshifted without the" necessitm of employing special tools,.and wherein theiclip's: may. be. spaced uniformly from eachothenoryat irregularly spaced intervals; depending ;up,on:.therequirements of individual. installations-t A still further object is to providea mounting; assembly including a railand clips otthevtype indicated above, wherein. the clips are of. revers able symmetrical form, so thatthey may1beiaps1- plied interchangeably in either of; tWOmpOSiMOnSL This avoidsany. possibility ofimproperfunctiont ing ..of the structures as atresultlof inadvertent; incorrect application of the clips.

The. foregoing objects are accomplishedaracm cordingto this teachingbya simplemechanicalt arrangement .of an extruded'rail andself-retainsingspringclips designed to coact therewith; withz the rail formedto include a flange-.against-whichi the. edge of l thetransparent. panel is held: by; the spring clips.

The preferred embodiment of the invention: is illustrated in the drawings herein, .in which:.

Figure llis an enlarged:sectionalview-through; asectionof the panel mountingr'ailas here-cones templ'ated, showing; the manner in which; that: raiLthepanel and the retaining, clipsiare-heldl in uselfsretaining relationship with each; other;

Figure. 2 is afragmental elevational viewiof a}:

section. of said rail and panel,- showinglthe :clipjst afiixed'at intervals spaced apartfrom each other-r. Thisviewis taken from. the left hand side ofithe'r structure seen in Figure 1,1s0 thatuit shows sthei appearance of. the. mounting;.: and

Figure 3 is a perspective view. of. onesoiithel spring clips contemplated by this invention.

Theraillli, as illustrated, is of'double formantion, havingflanges Hand 12 whichare par. allel to each other and eaclrofwhich' extends at right angles from the plane of the rail. The flanges II are adapted to bear against the front surface of the window pane or panel 13 (at a point spaced slightly inwardly from the extreme marginal edge of the panel), while the flanges l2 are positioned to extend across the marginal edge of the panel. Thus, the flanges H define the window aperture, While the flanges I2 provide an abutment or seat for the edges of the pane. It is contemplated that, in most instances at least, the panel [3 will be mounted in a frame extending entirely around it, so that the front face l3a of the panel will rest against the flanges ll of a mounting rail adjacent all of the marginal edges of the panel. The edge of the panel may bear against the flange I2, as illustrated at 13b in the upper portion of Figure 1, or may be spaced therefrom as shown by the edge I30. in the lower portion of the figure. That is, in a mounting extending entirely around the panel, the panel need not necessarily contact'the flange !2 at all points, and since the outside dimensions of the panel will normally be somewhat smaller than the aperture defined by these flanges of the rails, the panel will rest on the flange IE only along its lower edges, with the edges 13d spaced from the flange at other points. This provides adequate mechanical clearance between the panel and its mounting, and allows for reasonable tolerances of manufacture.

, In addition to the flanges H and I2, the rail Hi includes a pair of inwardly extending webs I4. These webs each have a ridge l along their rear edge to provide an angular abutment surface It spaced inwardly from the plane of the transparent panel I 3 and outside of the marginal limits thereof, that is, beyond the edges I31) and I311. The rail in may be provided with additional reinforcing ribs I! and surface ornamentation such as the grooves l8, if desired, but

these do not act as functional parts in the pres ent disclosure.

' The panel I3 is held in position solely by the V-shaped clips 20. These clips are snapped into position as shown, and may be spaced apart from each other as required (see Figure 2). The clips 21! each consist of a short strip of thin spring metal, folded at 21 so as to form two identical and opposite arms 22. These arms 22 lie in positions divergent from each other, and the ends of each of the arms are bent outwardly at 23 to provide smoothly rounded, convex pressure surfaces 24. Thus, these smoothly rounded surfaces are located at the points where the clips bear against the inside surface I30 of the glass or panel.

The clips 20 may be installed by inserting one of the rounded ends 23 under the flange l2 and flexing the two legs 22 outwardly from each other enough so that the fold 2| can be snapped over the ridge [5 and seated against the abutment surface I6. This may be done manually, simply by placing the clip in position with the fold 2| resting on the ridge or shoulder l5 and then forcing the clip forwardly toward the glass and outwardly toward the rail so that it snaps in place. A special tool may be employed to spread the legs 22 of the clip if desired, although this is unnecessary and it has been learned that even when the clips are formed of comparatively stiff steel springs, they may be easily snapped in position by pressing a screw driver blade or plier handle against the fold 2! to snap it over the shoulder l5.

From an examination of the drawings of the present disclosure it will be apparent that, with the parts in the position illustrated in Figure 1, the abutment It will serve as a means to limit rearward movement of the clips 20, while the flange 12 will hold the lower end portion 23 of the ,clip against inward movement, that is, movement toward the edges l3b or [3d of the panel. It follows that each clip will be held in the flexed position shown, in which the resilient nature of the metal will force the convex portion 24 of one of the arms of the clip against the inside face I30 of the panel. The clips contact the surface of the panel at a point spaced slightly inwardly from the edges, and opposite to the point of contact of the flanges H, so that the panel is held in a firm grip at this point.

It will be clear, however, that notwithstanding firmness of this grip, the yieldable nature 01" the spring clips will not only provide the degree of resiliency required, but will also allow considerable tolerance as to the thickness of the panels and compensate for minor dimensional variations of the rails and of the clips themselves. the present design will permit a fairly wide angular misalignment between the rail and the panel without exerting undue strains on either. It follows that while the panel is held securely and restrained against unwanted vibration, either the panel or the rail may be tilted considerably with respect to each other without danger of chipping or shattering the panel, even if it is of such brittle material as ordinary glass.

To remove the panel from the mounting it is necessary only to snap the clips out from behind the ridge i5. This may easily be done by inserting a screw driver blade in the V between the members 22 and prying the clip upwardly until the fold 2| snaps off of the surface I6.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that by the present teachings an eflicient and yet simple glass mounting device is provided. The mounting is advantageous in several respects. It is entirely of metal, yet is devoid of any screws, screw threads or special fittings. As a result, it is considerably cheaper to manufacture and easier to use than assemblies employing these devices. The rails employed may be exactly identical at all points along the cross-section, so that they man be manufactured by an economical extruding process without any additional punching, drilling, milling or other machine operations. The clips also are of a form well suited to economical methods of manufacture, and may be produced in large quantities by a simple punch press operation, employing a relatively inexpensive die.

With all of the above, the assembly affords a mounting sufliciently resilient so that it will hold securely even if the panel and rail are badly misaligned, and can be adjusted to give as firm or as loose a grip as desired merely by varying the spacing between the individual clips inserted in the channel. The clips may be easily inserted or removed without the need of special tools or unusual skills. It follows that the teachings of the present invention are not only desirable in the original assembly of a structure, but are also ideally suited to situations wherein it may be expected that changes, replacements or repair may be made by workmen not particularly skilled in glass setting arts.

Moreover, a mounting according to Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A panel mounting assembly for a panel of relatively thin sheet material having opposite inner and outer faces and a marginal edge thereon, comprising a metallic mounting strip having a right angle flange provided with a face supporting surface along its edge directly engaging the outer face of the panel adjacent its marginal edge, with an edge supporting flange extending rearwardly from said strip, said flanges being parallel to each other and providing a recess whereby to allow for tilting movements of said panel during installation, and when the same is in place and in engagement with said flanges, and a clip supporting web spaced from but parallel with the edge supporting flange and extending rearwardly beyond the end of said flange; said web having a ridge at its inner end forming an angular abutment rearwardly of the edge supporting flange; with a plurality of spring retaining clips carried on said web and bearing against the inner face of the panel to urge it into resilient engagement with the face supporting surface of the strip; said clips each consisting of a single integral V-shaped sheet metal spring strip having a center fold and two identical and opposite arms diverging from said fold at an acute angle to each other, with the center fold of the clip lying against the abutment of the clip supporting web and one of the arms underlying the edge supporting flange; the other arm of the clip resiliently engaging the inner face of the panel.

2. A panel mounting assembly for a panel of relatively thin sheet material having opposite faces and a marginal edge thereon, comprising a metallic mounting strip extending along at least one edge of the panel and having a pair of integral flanges each extending at a right angle to said strip and provided with faces, one of which being in direct engagement with the outer face of the panel adjacent the marginal edge thereof and the other face being in engagement with the marginal edge of the panel, said flanges being parallel to each other and providing a recess whereby to allow for tilting movements of said panel during installation, and when the same is in place and in engagement with said flanges, and a retaining clip consisting of a V-shaped sheet metal spring strip having a pair of angularly divergent arms, with the first of said arms extending outwardly beyond the inner face of the panel at its marginal edge, and the second of said arms en gaging the inner face of the panel at a point opposite to said flange; the arms of said clip being tensioned toward each other so that they tend to spring together, with means for restraining the first of said arms against movement toward the panel to cause the second arm to urge the panel into firm but resilient engagement with said flange, and means for retaining said clip in position on the mounting strip.

GEORGE MENOSKY.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 985,800 Hartbauer Mar. .7, 1911 1,040,572 Otterson Oct. 8, 1912 2,363,429 Lowry Nov. 21, 1944 2,497,515 Pearse Feb. 14, 1950 2,505,553 Krantz Apr. 25, 1950 

